


Three Encounters

by ShadowOfASoul17



Series: Chance Encounters and the Past [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: F/M, my own headcanon, read cold hands and green eyes first, yusaku's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-11-18 17:16:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11295141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowOfASoul17/pseuds/ShadowOfASoul17
Summary: She had always looked vaguely familiar, Yusaku thought. No matter if she was Zaizen Aoi or Blue Angel. She always reminded him of someone else. And through 3 encounters, he eventually realized...that she was the same person through and through.





	1. First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to Cold Hands and Green Eyes. A lot of you guys wanted a companion fic in Yusaku's POV, so here it is! And no, I am not going to follow the anime.

_I've seen her before._

Those words ran through Fujiki Yusaku's brain as he saw her running from the dragon on the screen, ran through Playmaker's brain when he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the fire that would have seriously damaged her real body and erased her Link VRAINS account. 

 

When he had landed them in a safe place, her shocked blue eyes met his. "Who are you?" She asked in astonishment.

 

She looked like she was about to collapse any second, so Playmaker kept his hand on her waist to support her. He didn't reply, instead choosing to quickly observe her. She reminded him vaguely of someone, but he had to turn away and let go of her as the Knight of Hanoi arrived on his massive dragon. This time, he answered the Knight with his name and brandished his Duel Disk that was currently trapping Ignis.

 

They exchanged words, and Playmaker turned back to Blue Angel, quietly telling her to log out. She understood and ran off.

 

_That's one more person out of the way who isn't involved in this. Still...I feel like I should know her._

 

He'd have time to investigate later. He had a Knight of Hanoi and a snarky AI to deal with right now. 

 

* * *

 

In his half-asleep state, Yusaku could hear his classmates chattering about Playmaker. The loudest voice belonged to that Shima guy who he had accidentally insulted the day before (but hey, being honest was never a bad idea, and he didn't really like Shima anyways), and he was ranting on about how good of a hero Playmaker was. Yusaku lifted his head at a girl's voice, and grimaced at her high-pitched squeals of delight.  

 

_Tsukiyomi Misaki._

Undoubtedly the girl with the most annoying voice and personality, she was currently waving around an apparently handmade poster of Playmaker. She was ranting on about how she'd get Playmaker to fall for her (Yusaku was tempted to tell her off, but decided against it) once she got her Link VRAINS account back. 

 

_Oh right...if I recall correctly, she has an account in Link VRAINS. So the Knight of Hanoi's dragon erased her account...I wonder how she made it out unscathed._

His green eyes flicked towards the lone girl not crowding around Misaki, a brown-haired girl scrolling through her tablet.  _What was her name again?_ He hadn't bothered remembering anyone's name in his class. There wasn't any point, anyways.  _She looks vaguely familiar...have I seen her somewhere else?_

 

He grimaced again as Misaki's collective group of girls squealed in high-pitched delight when she brought up more photos of Playmaker. 

 

_Oh well. I can always investigate later._

Yusaku rested his head on his arms and went to sleep. 

 

It only felt like minutes before he heard an angry voice calling his name.  He opened one eye to glance at the board, his head still resting on his arms.  _Math class...they're on question 3. Easy. Question 4 is impossible to solve, but given Mizuki-sensei's nature, she probably wrote it wrong._ His analysis was complete in a split second, and he was broken out of his reverie as Mizuki-sensei yelled his name again. "Fujiki Yusaku-san!"

 

Yusaku slowly raised his head this time, meeting her furious gaze. "You don't come to class just to sleep! If you honestly think you can pass school by sleeping in class, you're completely mistaken! Now solve this question!" She was pointing at question 3.

 

He didn't need to glance at the board again. "2xy squared plus the cube root of y. Also, unless you want number 4 to be impossible to solve, you should rewrite x cubed as x squared."

 

The class turned as one to gape at him. Yusaku didn't understand why.  _Have they not seen polynomials before?_ He put his head back down and closed his eyes, drifting off into oblivion once more. 

 

* * *

 

Once again, it felt like mere minutes before the loud bell pierced through his eardrums, indicating the end of school. Yusaku groaned softly and buried his head deeper into his arms, trying to drown out the annoying noise. He relaxed when the sound ended, and was about to drift off again when Shima's loud voice startled him out of his slumbering state. 

 

"Hey, hey, do you think Playmaker's going to show up again?"

 

Yusaku lifted his head slowly to glare at Shima, but the green-haired kid didn't seem to care, instead ranting on about Playmaker again. Behind Shima, Yusaku saw the brown-haired girl quietly walk past and exit the classroom. He sighed and turned back to Shima, waiting for him to finish ranting. 

 

"Again, I think you should really have more confidence in your deck if you want to meet your idol that badly. I highly doubt Playmaker would take any interest in you if you fail to believe in your own deck."

 

An offended look appeared on Shima's face and he growled before storming out the classroom. 

 

Yusaku's face was expressionless as he stood up and took his school bag, his observant eyes catching sight of a tablet on the lower level desks. _If I recall correctly...doesn't that belong to that girl?_ He debated whether to pick it up and give it to the office, but he decided not to, and exited the classroom.

 

_Hm...guess I'll head over to Kusanagi-san's. There's no homework today, so I can--_

Another person's body slammed into his, and Yusaku was knocked painfully to the ground. "Ack!"

 

"Kyaa!"

 

"Ow...." Yusaku rubbed his forehead. The impact was definitely going to leave a bruise later. 

 

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking at where I was going!"

 

_Oh...it's her._

"It's alright," Yusaku replied. "I should have been looking at where I was going as well." He pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. "Here."

 

"T-thank you." 

 

Yusaku lifted an eyebrow as the girl gasped. "Is something wrong?"

 

She shook her head. "Your hand...it's just really cold."

 

_Kusanagi-san says that all the time...are they really that cold?_ "I get that often." He let go of her hand. "If you don't mind, can I ask why you were running back to school?"

 

_Extra information is never a bad idea. In this case, anyways._

"I, uh, left my tablet in the classroom."

 

_So it was hers._

"Your tablet? I think I saw it in the classroom. It should still be there."

 

"Really? Thank you, Fujiki-san!"

 

_How does she know...oh right, Mizuki-sensei called me out. So much for people not knowing my name._

 

"Don't worry about it..." Yusaku trailed off awkwardly and mentally cursed when he remembered he didn't know her name. 

 

"Zaizen. Zaizen Aoi."

 

_Zaizen Aoi...._

"Zaizen-san, then."

 

The two of them looked at each other for just a while longer (longer than what Yusaku knew was normal, but he didn't want to stop analyzing the girl's features and figure out why she looked so familiar). Yusaku turned away first, heading down the hallway that would lead out into the courtyard. 

 

Behind him, he could hear footsteps running to the classroom. 

 

_I've definitely seen her before..._

 

* * *

 

"What happened to you?" Kusanagi asked curiously as he handed Yusaku an ice pack for his head. "Did you run into something during gym class?"

 

"We didn't have gym today," Yusaku reminded his friend. 

 

"So? What happened?" 

 

"One of my classmates crashed into me when she was running back into the school to get something she forgot in class."

 

"She?"

 

Yusaku nodded. "She introduced herself as Zaizen Aoi."

 

"Zaizen?" Kusanagi asked with a surprised expression. "That name sounds vaguely familiar...."

 

"You know her?" Yusaku asked, interest flashing through his eyes. 

 

"No, wait..." Kusanagi turned and started typing rapidly on one of the keyboards and nodding as his results popped up on the screen. "Zaizen Akira, the head of security for SOL Technology. He does appear to have a younger sister, but her name isn't mentioned..."

 

"So she's probably tied up with SOL Technology through her brother..." Yusaku mused. "I should be careful around her then. But..."

 

"But?" Kusanagi asked.

 

"She seems familiar....I feel like I've met her before."

 

"Heh...I don't know about that then. But still, be careful around her. If her brother finds out that Fujiki Yusaku and Playmaker are one and the same person, he may use her to capture you, since you two are classmates."

 

"I understand."

 

"Let's analyze the AI's program more thoroughly now, shall we?"

 

"Sure."

 

* * *

 

"This guy's impossible to decipher," Kusanagi said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "None of his code makes sense."

 

_"What do you expect? My body got destroyed!"_ Ignis said indignantly. _"By the way, Blue Angel appears to be having a duel in Link VRAINS in 20 minutes. Let's go watch it!"_

"No," Yusaku said automatically. "We might end up getting tracked down by SOL Technology or the Knights of Hanoi."

 

_"But it's so boring being here,"_ Ignis whined. _"Besides, didn't you think Blue Angel looked familiar to you as well?"_

Yusaku glared at the AI. "How did you know?!"

 

"She does?" Kusanagi asked. He began typing rapidly into his computer, and brought up two photos of Aoi and Blue Angel side-by-side. "Well, there are a lot of facial similarities...I'll look into it. Go and watch the duel if you want, Yusaku. Just don't get caught. Besides, you want to observe her deck, right?"

 

"I guess."

 

"Then there you go." Kusanagi smiled and let Yusaku walk past him into the hidden compartment where Yusaku would often use to enter Link VRAINS.

 

The door slid shut behind Yusaku.  

 

"Deck, set! Into the VRAINS!"

 

* * *

 

"Oh my! And with that, it's another win for Blue Angel!"

 

Playmaker watched as Blue Angel smiled and waved to the crowd. The crowd ate it up, shouting her name. She really was an ideal idol, giving her fans exactly what they wanted. 

 

"Alright, everyone! This live session in Link VRAINS is now over. We'll now be switching over to Go Onizuka's duel in the Europe Area, which will start in 10 minutes! Thank you!" 

 

Playmaker pushed himself off the dark alley wall he was leaning on and headed deeper into the shadows, sticking to the alleys to find his way around the Link VRAINS space. He eventually exited the alleys to find himself near the waterways, and went back to leaning against a wall.

 

_"But you know...Blue Angel's deck really is something. All that effect damage..."_

"I know," Playmaker replied. "It'd be difficult to get around. I've almost figured out her deck, though."

 

_"I know, how about you duel her!"_

"No," Playmaker said automatically. "First, I don't know her. Second, I only duel the Knights of Hanoi. Third, Blue Angel is clearly not a Knight of Hanoi, so I will not duel her."

 

_"You're so boring,"_ Ignis complained. 

 

"Shut up, she's approaching us." True enough, Blue Angel was calmly walking towards them with a slightly guarded expression on her face. Playmaker gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "Is there a reason you came to talk to me?"

 

"Uh...I never got an opportunity to thank you for saving me when that Knight of Hanoi attacked. So thank you."

 

_That's all?_ "You're welcome."

 

That was when Ignis decided to butt in. _"Ho~ Look, it's Blue Angel!"_

Blue Angel squeaked. "Where and what is that?"

 

_Damn this AI program._ "I thought I told you to keep quiet." Playmaker could feel his eye twitching with irritation.

 

_"But it's boring watching you two talk...by the way, can't you say something nicer like 'that was quite the nice duel you had' or something like that?"_

"You watched my duel?" Blue Angel asked. Playmaker noticed her cheeks flush slightly red. 

_What's up with her?_

"Yeah, I did," Playmaker replied. "You use an interesting deck and are quite a good duelist yourself. The AI apparently thinks so as well." He wasn't one to normally give out compliments, but Blue Angel really was an amazing duelist.

_"I can tell when there's a good duelist!"_ Ignis said indignantly. " _Can I set you two up in a Speed Duel?"_

"Shut up before I erase you." It was an empty threat, he knew. But he had nothing else at the moment. 

_"If you erase me, you won't have your trump card against the Knights of Hanoi~ Hehehe!"_

_He makes a good point. But that's easily rebutted._

"I don't need to erase you in order to modify your program so that you'd be stripped of your current sentience."

_"Ehh?!"_

 

Playmaker heard Blue Angel begin laughing, and he looked up to meet her eyes. "What's so funny?"

 

"S-sorry, you just looked so funny arguing with your Duel Disk."

 

_I do look ridiculous, don't I?_ "Luckily it's not my actual Duel Disk or else I'd be considered crazy."

 

"So, what's his name?"

 

_"Ignis! I am the only--"_ Playmaker clapped a hand over Ignis' eye to muffle him. 

 

_Revealing too much to her is a bad idea. Especially if she is Zaizen-san..._

"Sorry, but I know you have indirect links to SOL Technology, so any information regarding this guy is classified. Well, you already know his name, but that's all you'll know for now."

"What--how do you know I'm connected to SOL Technology?"

"They're the company that created Link VRAINS after all. Whoever gets recruited to be their representative, like you, would eventually be tangled up with them sooner or later. Sorry, Blue Angel. You seem nice, but I can't trust anyone."

_Did I really just admit that she seems nice? Well, she does..._

"I see," Blue Angel said.

"I'm going to log off soon. Are you going to watch Go's duel as a fellow Charisma Duelist?"

"No, I have to log off soon as well."

"Is that so? Well then, I'm logging off now." _Earlier the better._

_"Ehh? We're going now?"_

"The longer we stay here the larger chance we risk getting caught by either the Knights of Hanoi or SOL Technology. You're the one who wanted to come here anyways."

_"At least introduce yourself properly to Blue Angel. I don't think you did that when you saved her. And according to the laws of human etiquette, humans must make formal introductions if they are to continuously communicate in the future. Besides, even if you're a wanted hacker and she's connected with SOL Technology, you should-- ."_

"Your data on the laws of human etiquette are out of date, then," Playmaker interrupted flatly. _It sounds like something out of a rulebook made up by stuffy old people 3 centuries ago. But might as well, or else he'll never shut up._  He turned to Blue Angel. "Well, I don't think I ever answered your initial question that day. My name is Playmaker. It's nice to make your acquaintance." He extended a gloved hand. 

"I'm Blue Angel, thanks again for saving me. Nice to meet you!" Blue Angel took his hand, which felt like ice. She gasped.

_Same reaction in real life..._

"Something wrong?" Playmaker asked curiously.

"Why is your hand so cold?! Even with the glove--!"

 _Really?_ He had to smile at that. "I get that often. I don't know myself. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll be logging off now." Turning away, he tapped his Duel Disk and closed his eyes as he dissolved into motes of blue light.

And in Kusanagi's hotdog truck, Yusaku blinked his eyes open, sliding down the cold wall to sit on the ground. Kusanagi opened the door, his eyes sympathetic. "Tired?"

"I guess."

Kusanagi helped Yusaku up, guiding him onto one of the empty chairs. "You still have school tomorrow, right? I'll drop you off at home."

"Thanks, Kusanagi-san. Oh, do you have any more information on Blue Angel?"

"Well...she and Zaizen Aoi are most likely one and the same."

"They do resemble the other," Yusaku said. "No wonder one of them always seemed familiar...they reminded me of the other one."

"Are you sure that's the only reason why you're drawn to her?" Kusanagi asked with a smirk on his face.

"Huh?" _What's he talking about?_ "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kusanagi sighed. "Trust you to not understand. Can't take a hint, can you?"

Yusaku was genuinely confused now. "I don't understand."

 _"Me neither--OH!"_ Ignis started sniggering, and only shut up when Yusaku glared at him.

"It's fine, it's fine." Kusanagi waved a hand and made his way to the driver's seat. "Just relax for now, Yusaku."

Yusaku nodded wordlessly, closing his eyes as Kusanagi started up the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kusanagi already knows Blue Angel and Aoi are one and the same, he's just leaving off on telling Yusaku because Yusaku's too oblivious anyways.


	2. Second Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, I'm back from camp and with a new chapter of Three Encounters! Sorry for the long wait. I've caught up on Vrains and honestly, the duel between Playmaker and Revolver was really good. Too bad episode 13 was just a recap episode, although we got more scenes with Ema. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

It had been a busy few weeks for Yusaku. The Knights of Hanoi had launched more attacks on Link VRAINS for reasons unknown (although Yusaku suspected the attacks were supposed to draw out Playmaker and capture Ignis), and he had stopped all of them with Speed Duels. The duels had grown progressively harder, as more of Playmaker's deck was shown, allowing Hanoi to make up counter strategies. Yusaku had to get outside help from Kusanagi more than once to make sure he didn't end up falling off his board and injure himself in real life. However, he was still able to hold off the Knights of Hanoi, and they withdrew for the time being. 

 

Yusaku also had to deal with news reports, articles, and his own classmates gushing over Playmaker on a daily basis. He chased away Shima when he could (the kid wouldn't leave him alone for some reason), and continued to sleep in class, ignoring all the talk about Playmaker. 

 

The Data Material generated from all of Playmaker's Speed Duels with the Knights of Hanoi had eventually enabled SOL Technologies to create and sustain a stable Data Storm, allowing for public Speed Duels to occur. According to the Link VRAINS newsfeed that Ignis loved bringing up (much to Yusaku's annoyance), Blue Angel was set to demonstrate the Speed Duel in one week--her opponent being Queen. 

 

Yusaku had already figured out Blue Angel's deck after watching most of her duels in Link VRAINS, but he hadn't watched a single duel of Queen's. He disliked her immensely--she was a shallow girl who was arrogant and spoiled, and she wore next to nothing in her Link VRAINS avatar to distract all the male duelists. Her personality remained the same in real life as Tsukiyomi Misaki, with nearly all the boys drooling over her appearance every single day. The only exception to this was Yusaku, who ignored everyone around him and noticed nothing. 

 

Sighing as he heard more conversations about Playmaker, Yusaku decided to go back to sleep. He had just rested his head in his arms when Mizuki-sensei stormed into the room, her anger radiating off her in waves. "Class, you have a test today. I expect you all to finish. And no sleeping!"

 

Yusaku heard her last few words, and glanced up. _She noticed me._ He grimaced as she passed out the tests, and took out a pencil. _Oh well, at least this stuff is easy._ He began writing down answers, his quick mind solving the questions almost faster than he could write down the solution. _I wonder when lunch is. I'm tired._

* * *

 

When the lunch bell rang, the students immediately scattered and ran out of the classroom, eager to escape from the math test hell that Mizuki-sensei had put them through. However, Yusaku had just drifted off at his desk before Shima's loud voice startled him out of his reverie. "How well do you think you did on the test?"

 

Yusaku gave him an uninterested glare. "Who knows. You should get a good mark if you studied."

 

Shima laughed nervously. "Eh...Anyways, you have a duel disk, right?"

 

Yusaku nodded slowly.

 

"Why don't you come to the Duel Club with me? You can learn how to duel there and be a good duelist! You might even get to be on Playmaker's level if you try hard enough! Really...."

 

_There he goes again..._ Yusaku tuned Shima out, waiting for him to stop ranting. When the green-haired boy paused to take a breath, Yusaku cut in. "Don't you need to go buy your lunch at the cafeteria? The line should be quite long now. And unless you have your own bento like me, you will be going without lunch today."

 

"Oh, crap!" Shima ran out the room.

 

Yusaku breathed a silent sigh of relief as he took out his own bento. He grimaced at the contents.  _Plain white rice again...I'm going to have to get some groceries later._ Taking out his chopsticks, he pushed around the rice, unsuccessfully trying to make it look more appealing.  _Guess I'll go to Kusanagi-san's after school._ Yusaku put down his chopsticks and his eyes fell on the brown-haired girl below him, eating quietly while scrolling through her tablet.  _Zaizen-san..._

The recurring sense of familiarity welled up in him.   _I want figure out for myself if she's Blue Angel or not...should I talk to her? No, asking her like that would definitely result in a negative response from her. It's not like she'll talk to me anyways. How do I even approach her?_

Yusaku sighed and went back to poking at his bento. 

 

* * *

_"Hey, hey, Blue Angel's Speed Duel's in 10 minutes! Let's go watch it in Link VRAINS!"_

A week had passed, and Blue Angel was due to duel Queen.

"We can watch it from the large screen. There's no need to watch it in Link VRAINS," Yusaku replied shortly. He and Kusanagi were sitting in front of the monitors in the hotdog truck, creating a program for Playmaker's Duel Board. The aim of the program was to allow the Duel Board to still be able to move while in midair, even if it wasn't on a Data Storm. It would enable him to move around more freely and escape most of the media attention. Typing in one last line, Yusaku pressed a key, and the screen flashed green, indicating the success. He smiled. "We're done."

 

"Good job, Yusaku! Let's take a break," Kusanagi said, getting up from his chair. He turned to his hotdog grill and started cooking sausages, opening the window to his truck. Yusaku opened the back door and slipped out, settling down on the chair in front of the truck as the TV screen lit up, displaying Blue Angel and Queen on two tall buildings. 

 

"Good evening, everyone! Today in Link VRAINS, we will be showcasing the new Speed Duel! Duelists will be surfing a Data Storm while dueling! Today, Blue Angel is dueling! Her opponent is the formidable Queen!"

 

People began gathering in front of the screen, holding up various banners for the two girls. Yusaku noted with interest that while many of the male population had their eyes on Queen, a huge majority was still cheering for Blue Angel. 

 

"LOVE BLUE! ANGEL! LOVE BLUE! ANGEL!!!!!!"

 

"QUEEN-SAMA!!!"

 

_"It really is getting loud here,"_ Ignis remarked.  

 

Yusaku thanked Kusanagi as the latter handed him a hotdog and went back to watching the screen. "Blue Angel's large fan base is to be expected." He took a bite from his hotdog. "I don't understand why most of the males are so drawn to Queen, though."

 

_"Haven't you seen her outfit?"_

Yusaku glanced at the image of Queen and grimaced at her outfit. "What about it?"

 

_"Ehh?? You really can't take a hint? You're so dense."_

"Shut up." Yusaku took another bite from his hotdog. 

 

"Data Storm, start!"

 

"Ready, set,"

 

"SPEED DUEL!"

 

* * *

_Something's wrong._ Yusaku's eyes narrowed as he stared at the screen which was displaying Blue Angel's and Queen's duel. 

 

The duel had gone well for Blue Angel until her third turn, when her Duel Board had begun jerking around, almost throwing her off at some instances. As far as Yusaku knew, Duel Boards would never jerk like that even if the autopilot was turned off. "Ignis. Run a check on Blue Angel's Duel Board."

 

_"You've noticed it as well, haven't you?"_ Ignis asked. _"Hm...it's definitely not the Knights of Hanoi, but Blue Angel's Duel Board_ is _being hacked."_

"I knew it. Who is it?"

 

_"Hm...let me see...oh!_   _The signal...Queen's doing it."_

"Who knew Tsukiyomi could hack," Yusaku muttered. 

 

_"She's doing a really sloppy job if she can't even cover up her own tracks. Must be an amateur."_

"Besides that, I'm surprised SOL Technology hasn't noticed it yet."

 

A collective gasp of shock was heard as Blue Angel nearly fell off her Duel Board, her face set in a grimace as she tried to take control of her board. 

 

Yusaku abruptly stood up. "We're going to Link VRAINS."

 

_"Going to help her out?"_

"Her real body's going to be in danger if this continues. I need to test my new program anyways."

 

_"Admit it, you just want to save her 'cause you care and you like her, righ--"_

"Be quiet." Yusaku pulled the back doors of Kusanagi's hot dog truck open and ran to the back room. 

 

"Yusaku, you'd better be careful!" Kusanagi called. 

 

"Got it!" Yusaku entered the room and took out his deck. 

 

"Deck, set! Into the VRAINS!"

 

Familiar blue and red lines circled around him, and a blue sphere surrounded his body. Playmaker's outfit formed around him, and he shot into the air, where he entered a blue portal and landed on a street in Link VRAINS. His Duel Board flew towards him and he jumped onto it, surfing towards the Data Storm. The program he had created earlier worked perfectly, allowing him to move in midair. Seeing Blue Angel and Queen ahead and above him, Playmaker tapped his board and it positioned itself right below Blue Angel's jerking board. 

 

_"We can't interfere with the duel,"_ Ignis remarked. _"What are we going to do, Playmaker-sama?"_

"Shut up and let me think." Playmaker watched as Blue Angel ended her turn with a facedown card.  _Judging from her strategy so far, that trap card should keep her in the duel for one more turn. If I recall correctly, its effect is..._

 

Playmaker heard Queen speak. "I'll end your humiliation in this turn, Blue Angel. And then I'll take your place as the icon of Link VRAINS!" 

 

_So that was her aim. How arrogant and jealous can she get?_

 

Playmaker heard screams from the audience, and looked up in shock as Blue Angel was blasted off her board before she could activate her trap and fell out of the Data Storm, her body spiraling down into the formless space below. "Queen, you--!" Playmaker swore and his board shot towards Blue Angel's body. He caught her gently in his arms and touched her Duel Disk to activate her trap. "Trap, activate. When your monster is destroyed in battle, you can banish another monster in your graveyard from the game and negate any damage you would have received." He met her blue eyes. "I assume this is the trap you meant to activate. I have removed one of your Normal Monsters from play."

 

"P-playmaker!"

 

_Good, she appears to be fine besides the shock._ Playmaker tapped his Duel Board and shot upwards towards the Data Storm. "This duel wasn't fair from the start."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Queen. She's been hacking your Duel Board. All the jerking around and the malfunction of the autopilot was her doing. I'm surprised SOL Technology didn't notice it earlier." Blue Angel shifted in horror and Playmaker tightened his grip on her, trying to keep her from slipping from his grasp. "Speed Duels are automatically set to have autopilots unless the duelist deactivates it himself. Queen took advantage of that fact and the weak security around the Duel Boards in order to to disable you from playing on fair ground."

 

"No way..."

 

_"I caught her hacking,"_ Ignis' gleeful voice spoke up. _"She's quite the amateur, can't even cover up her own tracks."_

"Quiet, you," Playmaker snapped. "I thought I told you not to speak."

 

_"So boringgg~"_ But Ignis shut up.

"Ignis will get Queen out of your Duel Board and strengthen the security once we get there. Due to the trap I activated, the Battle Phase has been forced to end and Queen should end her turn soon."  _I just hope this snarky AI cooperates..._ "You should finish the duel. Ignis and I will keep any more security breaches from happening since the Knights of Hanoi could take advantage of this to launch another attack."

 

"Not to sound ungrateful--I really am thankful that you saved me again--but why are you here in Link VRAINS? You haven't shown up in the past few weeks."

 

"Your Speed Duel is the first Speed Duel that doesn't involve me or the Knights of Hanoi, and I was interested to see how this Speed Duel would work out."  _Also because you were in danger..._

"I see..."

 

_"Watch out!"_ Ignis cried. _"The Data Storm's becoming unstable! It's probably from the hacking!"_

A vortex swirled wildly towards them, consuming everything in its path. 

 

_Dammit._

"Queen's doing more damage than she thinks she is. This is going to be a rough ride, so hold on tight." 

 

"I can fight on my own!"

 

_She probably can. But not here._

"Not here you can't. My Duel Board only has enough space for one person to stand on safely while moving, and I doubt you've ever tried surfing through an unstable Data Storm. If you're not careful, you might get killed."

 

"No..."

 

_"It's coming!"_ Ignis cried.

 

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Playmaker shifted and his Duel Board flew towards a side building as, the vortex consuming the building they had just passed in seconds.  _I need to get Blue Angel out of here and fast. The only way for her to stay safe is for her to win the duel._ "The original course is right up ahead. Ignis, when you're in range, get Queen out of Blue Angel's Duel Board and repair the security."

 

_"Why me?"_ The AI whined. 

 

_I'm in no mood to deal with him._

"The offer to erase your sentience still stands," he retorted with ice in his voice. Ignis grumbled unintelligibly but didn't reply. 

 

"It's heading right for us!" Blue Angel cried. 

 

"I see it," Playmaker replied. He tapped his board and it flew off in another direction away from the vortex. "I'm guessing you don't have a Skill that would work in this situation." _Even if I was dueling, Storm Access wouldn't stop the Data Storm. This one seems particularly violent as well._

 

"No."

 

"Do you have anything that you could use to swing yourself up somewhere? Such as another building?"  _Hopefully she has something...doesn't she have a whip_ _?_

 

"I have a whip..."

 

_Good. Then this might just work._

 

Playmaker set Blue Angel onto her feet as gently as he could, her body pressed against his due to the small structure of the Duel Board.  _The height...shape...Zaizen-san?! Are they really the same? I can confirm it later._ "Get onto that building. I'll take care of the Data Storm."

 

"But you just said...!"

 

"I survived one during my duel with the Knight of Hanoi." _Just barely, though._

 

"I guess I owe you again for saving my life, Playmaker."

 

"You can pay me back by winning this duel against that disgraceful coward of a duelist. Go." _Queen...she has no right to call herself a duelist._

 

Blue Angel nodded and let her blue whip extend from her hands, and she whipped it at a railing on a tall building. It wrapped around the railing, stabilizing in seconds. She took a deep breath and allowed it to reel in, pulling her up and away from Playmaker's board. Playmaker watched as she swung herself onto the building with a somersault, and safely land on the roof. 

 

_Good. She's safe._ "Ignis, are you in range?"

 

_"Just a little closer...Alright, I'm doing it!"_  A purple stream shot out from Playmaker's Duel Disk and connected with Blue Angel's empty board. 

 

"Tell her what you did and not to worry about me, and that she should win the duel as fast as she can."

 

_"Okay, okay."_

"If you forget 'by accident', I'll be tearing through your code when I get back."

 

_"Scary~"_ But Ignis said nothing. 

 

Playmaker grimaced as winds buffeted him, and surfed away from the vortex. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Blue Angel surf back to Queen, and he smiled.  _You can do it._ But that one moment of distraction was enough for the howling winds to toss him around and slam him into a building.

 

Playmaker screamed as pain exploded from his left arm, somehow miraculously staying on his board. His arm was twisted strangely and he felt his cheek being sliced open, sending a new burst of pain to his nerves. _Ngh...broken arm, a cut on my face...probably bruises...damn this Data Storm._ He heard Ignis then, the AI's frantic voice asking if he was alright. Surprisingly, the AI, snarky as it was, appeared to care for his well-being. 

 

"I'm fine," he replied with gritted teeth. His arm  _hurt._ He heard two other voices then. 

 

"Playmaker!"

 

"Playmaker-sama!" 

 

Playmaker turned to see Blue Angel and Queen not too far off. "Finish this!" He yelled, voice tight with pain. He sped off as fast as he could, feeling the Data Storm gain on him.  _I have three reasons to survive here! One: I can't die when I haven't defeated the Knights of Hanoi! Two: I can't let Link VRAINS be consumed and destroyed by this Data Storm! Three: I haven't figured out if Blue Angel and Zaizen-san are one and the same! I...I have to find out!_

He heard Queen scream as her monster was destroyed. And suddenly, all was calm: the surroundings shifted to a grassy park surrounded by buildings, and the Data Storm disappeared. Playmaker found himself in an alley leading out to a small clearing where Blue Angel and Queen materialized, looks of shock on their faces. No one spoke, so Playmaker stepped forward, leaning on the wall for support.

"It's over...?" Blue Angel muttered in a daze.

 

"The winner of this Duel is Blue Angel." Blue Angel and Queen turned to see him then, their faces lighting up. 

 

"Playmaker!"

 

"Playmaker-sama!" 

 

Both of them started towards them, but Playmaker held his hand up to stop them. He gave Blue Angel a slight nod and smile of approval, before turning to Queen, where he felt the smile drop off his face. Queen faltered then, staring at him in a confused manner. 

 

_You don't deserve to be called a duelist. You put Blue Angel in danger._

 

"You didn't believe in your own skills as a duelist and play on fair game with your opponent. You decided to put Blue Angel's life in danger--her virtual and her real one--in danger because of some petty competition about being the icon of Link VRAINS. Because of your amateur hacking skills, you nearly killed her and almost caused Link VRAINS to collapse. You have no right to call yourself a duelist."

 

Playmaker turned away and logged off. 

 

* * *

Yusaku collapsed against the wall, gasping in pain as he hit his broken arm. Kusanagi's truck was already moving, and the teenager slowly made his way to the front. Upon noticing him, Kusanagi pulled over and rushed to him. "Oh gods, Yusaku, are you alright--"

 

"Broken arm." Yusaku felt something warm trickle down his cheek and he raised his right hand to touch it, hissing as he felt the cut. His fingers came away stained a bright red. "And a cut."

 

Kusanagi yanked out a first aid kit, pulling out bandages and hydrogen peroxide and who knows what else. "I  _told_ you to be careful--"

 

_"His arm is fractured in 2 different places and the cut is really deep, your first aid kit won't work,"_ Ignis snapped from the Duel Disk. _"He has to go to a hospital!"_

"Wha--when did you run a physical check on me?!"

 

Kusanagi nodded grimly and pressed some gauze into Yusaku's good hand. "Just hold this to your cut for now and I'll get you to the hospital." He went back to the driver's seat and started up the truck again. 

 

Yusaku pressed the gauze to his cut with a wince, pain still shooting up from his arm. "I'll need a cover story for this," he muttered. "What time is it?"

 

_"Exactly 11 PM,"_ Ignis replied. 

 

"It's dark enough," Yusaku said. "I'll just say I got attacked by a gang. I'll have to show up at school as well tomorrow to avoid suspicion--ugh, I have PE tomorrow. Tenjouin-sensei's not going to be happy."

 

_"I'm still surprised you like Blue Angel that much to take a hit for her,"_ Ignis said. 

 

Yusaku glared at his Duel Disk. "And what exactly is that supposed to imply?"

 

The AI huffed. _"Oh, never mind. I can confirm if they're the same here and now, though. Getting into Blue Angel's Duel Board linked me with her Duel Disk as well, so I can check who the real person is behind Blue Angel. That should keep you from pining over her every single day."_

"If you're insinuating anything idiotic I will delete you," Yusaku threatened. 

 

_"Uwah, you really are dense. Anyways, I've gotten into the Link VRAINS databases. Blue Angel's account belongs to...one Zaizen Aoi_."

 

Yusaku's breath caught in his throat. "So they really are the same person..." He fell back against the wall. "So I guess that's the end of all my searching." But even as he said that, he knew he wasn't saying the truth. He still felt drawn to her, and he didn't understand  _why._

 

Kusanagi's truck stopped and he opened the doors, rushing to help Yusaku up. "Can you stand?" He asked, offering Yusaku a hand. 

 

Yusaku took Kusanagi's hand and pulled himself up, wobbling as black spots exploded in his vision. "Whoa..."

 

Kusanagi put Yusaku's good arm over his shoulders and supported Yusaku while walking to the hospital doors. "Just a little bit more, Yusaku."

 

"Mm...still...have to...go...to school...tomorrow...ugh..."

 

"You're not going to school in this state."

 

"Keep...up...appearances..." Yusaku felt his strength give out and he slumped against Kusanagi. "Tired..."

 

Yusaku's vision darkened and he fell unconscious.

 

* * *

 

"You're completely insane," Kusanagi grumbled as he drove Yusaku to Den Academy. "You're on pain medication and you're all bandaged up and you look like you're about to fall asleep any second. You could have just called the office for a sick day."

 

"And have suspicions about my being Playmaker? Any regular person with these injuries would definitely not show up to school or work. Besides, gang attacks are not uncommon in some areas of Den City, so this kind of incident isn't unusual." Yusaku yawned. The entire hospital visit had continued into the early hours of morning, and he had only gotten around 1 hour of sleep. His cheek was covered with bandages and his left arm was wrapped up in a sling, rendering it immobile.

 

"I'll pick you up at 3," Kusanagi said as he stopped in front of Den Academy. 

 

"Yeah, thanks." Yusaku took his school bag and stumbled off the hotdog truck. He had arrived later than usual, and most of the students had already went to their homeroom class. He slowly walked to his classroom and entered the door, eyes growing heavier and heavier. He heard whispers of his condition, but he ignored them, collapsing into his seat and falling asleep instantly.

 

* * *

When PE came around, Yusaku was ready to go home and sleep. As his class arrived at the gym, Tenjouin-sensei rounded the corner, whistling. "Alright, class, it's time for PE..." He trailed off as his eyes landed on Yusaku. "Fujiki! What happened to you?"

 

Yusaku stepped towards Tenjouin-sensei. "I was attacked by a gang. The doctor says I can't participate in any PE class until at least after 6 weeks." 

 

Tenjouin-sensei nodded, a sympathetic light flashing in his eyes. "You're excused from class until you heal up. I'll let you go to the library to study. The rest of you, hurry up and change! I want everyone to run 10 laps as warmup!"

 

The entire class groaned and made their way into the separate changerooms, leaving Yusaku to make his way towards the library. Before he got too far, he heard footsteps and a voice call out his name. "Fujiki-san!"

 

_Zaizen-san...did she notice?_

"Zaizen-san?" Yusaku tilted his head to meet her eyes.

 

"Where did you get those injuries?"

 

_Perceptive. Is she testing me? I'll have to act nonchalant._

"I got attacked by a gang last night." He shrugged with his good arm, attempting to play it off. "Luckily someone came along and reported it before they did anything worse." Yusaku noticed her eyes fill with momentary confusion and then understanding.

 

"I...see. Hope you heal up soon."

 

"Thanks."

 

As Yusaku turned to walk off again, he heard Aoi's phone vibrate. _Wonder who'd send her a message during school hours. Oh well. None of my concern._ Rounding a corner, he saw the doors for the library right up ahead. He smiled. _More time to catch up on last night's sleep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's the last...sad. Any feedback or comments, please write them down! Thanks for reading!


	3. Third Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES I'M FINALLY DONE THIS CHAPTER  
> I was considering splitting this, but I had to stay in the pattern of threes for Yusaku's sake. This does drag on for a bit, but the later details are connected to Innocence of Past Memories. Enjoy the ship!

Staring at the man in front of him, Playmaker--no, Yusaku--felt memories rushing back to him. Memories he thought he'd never get back.  

 

_A hand ruffling his hair and words of pride..._

_Dueling on a tabletop with another boy, laughing as one of them won._...

 

"No...you can't be..."

 

The man smiles sadly, and Yusaku feels icy shock run through his veins. He didn't want to believe it, but deep down, he knew...it was the truth.

 

* * *

Thanks to Den City's medical technology, Yusaku's fractured arm was close to healing completely after 3 weeks of being stuck in a cast. He still had to keep his cast and sling on though, but the doctors had cleared him for accessing Link VRAINS, given that he would not participate in Speed Duels. Yusaku grudgingly complied with the orders, and entered Link VRAINS the first chance he had in Kusanagi's hot dog truck...

 

...right as one of Blue Angel's duels started. 

 

After the fiasco with Queen, Blue Angel had refused all requests for Speed Duels, going back to Master Duels. She had announced to the public that she would not Speed Duel for a while, and no one blamed her for that.

 

With no other plan in mind, Playmaker quickly moved into a narrow, dark alley before anyone noticed him. Luckily, he had a perfect view of the duel, and calmly observed Blue Angel. He still felt some kind of emotion whenever he saw her or her real life counterpart, and he still didn't know what it was. Ignis had been mercilessly prodding him to talk to her in real life more often, up to the point where he had to leave his Duel Disk at home nearly every single day. Even now, Ignis had been muted and locked down within the Duel Disk, multiple restriction codes on him.

 

Blue Angel started her turn by activating Light Stage, and, through a series of effects, Link Summoned, bringing her ace, Trickstar Holly Angel, onto the field. Playmaker recognized her strategy from watching her previous duels. Some slight pity was felt for her opponent: whoever he was, he was going to lose. 

 

Her opponent drew, and was dealt effect damage from Light Stage and Lycoris. He quaked upon receiving damage, and froze up, eyes flicking over his cards. It took a while for him to get his bearings, so Blue Angel's eyes swept over the crowd. Playmaker assumed she was analyzing the crowd, and he noticed her glancing at him with some slight surprise in her eyes before she turned back to her opponent, who had finally made a move...by completely going on the defensive.

 

To his credit, he lasted for 2 turns before Blue Angel finished him off. Cheers were heard for Blue Angel, and the crowd dispersed, leaving a multitude of reporters vying for Blue Angel's attention. A pigeon carrying a frog in its talons flew towards Blue Angel before she winked at the group and jumped off the building she was on, disappearing. With groans of disappointment, the reporters either logged off or dispersed, leaving the area empty after a few minutes. 

 

Playmaker remained leaning against the alley, and soon enough, Blue Angel appeared in front of him, a relieved smile on her face. "Playmaker! I'm glad you're alright."

 

Playmaker allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. "Same to you."

 

"Are your injuries healing?"a

 

"More or less."

 

"That's a relief. So...uh...I have a request for you."

 

Playmaker raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" _What kind of request would she want me for? Did she figure out my identity? Did SOL Technologies get her to distract me so they can capture me?_

 

"Um...please teach me how to Speed Duel!"

 

Playmaker blinked. That was not what he had been expecting. "You want me to help you with Speed Duels?" He asked incredulously. _She said she didn't want to Speed Duel again after her experience with Queen. Trauma like this takes months to recover from. Unless...she may have ulterior motives for this. Her brother's the security manager for SOL Technologies. He may have figured out who I really am. But that doesn't make sense...she could have just approached me in real life. Conclusion: SOL Technologies is most likely targeting Ignis with Blue Angel as their helper, since she's encountered me many times._ He knew SOL Technologies would come after him and Ignis soon. He snapped from his thoughts when Blue Angel spoke.

 

"Please, I'm begging you! I don't want another incident like the one with Queen happening again."

 

"It won't." _Not after SOL Technologies improved security on D-Boards and Data Storms._

"Still, I don't want to duel with the autopilot on."

 

_So she's returning to Speed Duels?_ "Is this about your reputation as the icon for Link VRAINS?"

 

Blue Angel started and a blush rose to her cheeks from embarrassment, but what caught Playmaker's attention was the hint of guilt in her eyes. _She's definitely on SOL Technologies' side this time. Probably for Ignis._

_"Oh, just help her out. Not like anything bad's going to result from it,"_ Ignis piped up.

 

_....How did he break past all my restraining codes?!_

"I don't remember letting you speak," Playmaker snapped at the AI, who smirked at him despite being an eyeball. He turned back to Blue Angel. "But fine, I'll help you out." _I've willingly fallen for the probable trap...what now?_

"Really?" 

"There are 3 pros to this. First, you probably will not be facing any more trouble with Speed Duels. Second, Link VRAINS will be regaining more Data Material from this, which will benefit the network. Third, Ignis will stop annoying me from not Speed Dueling more often." _Which is a relief, since he never shuts up these days._

"Um..."

"However, there are also 3 cons. First, Ignis and I will be at a higher risk of getting caught by SOL Technology or the Knights of Hanoi. Second, your fanbase will blow up after you're seen with me, and you will most likely be undergoing many interviews with the media, who will be desperate for information on me. Third, my arm hasn't fully healed yet, so I doubt my current abilities as a teacher."

 

_I believe my skills as a teacher for Speed Dueling is severely limited even if my arm healed completely. Media blowup isn't what both of us need, especially with her huge fanbase._

Blue Angel gaped at him, apparently at a loss for words.

 

_Still...if it's to help her, then I wouldn't mind..._

 

"I understand your current situation, though. I'll still help you out."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Her eyes shone with hope, and Playmaker had to smile internally. Somehow...she looked better with a positive look on her face.

"However, I still need some time for my arm to fully heal. Are you fine with meeting here one week from now at 6:45 PM?"

_After school and nothing scheduled for me. My arm should be fine by then._

"Hm..." Blue Angel flicked her wrist, and a holographic schedule popped up. "I don't have anything scheduled at that time."

 

"Then it's settled. See you then." Playmaker tapped his Duel Disk, logging off. His body started dissolving into blue particles, and just before he disappeared completely, he noticed a guilty flash in Blue Angel's eyes. 

 

* * *

A week had passed, but Yusaku's doctor had ordered Yusaku to keep the cast on for a few more days. Yusaku kept the sling on as well for show, not wanting to participate in PE. He planned on taking it off after one more week. 

 

It was nearly time for Playmaker's arrangement (Yusaku had muted Ignis when the AI started hinting about his _date_ ) with Blue Angel, but Yusaku was calmly eating a hot dog, conversing with Kusanagi. 

 

"You're insane for deliberately falling into the trap," Kusanagi said. 

 

Yusaku shrugged. "Zaizen-san is most likely under her brother's orders this time. He doesn't know that I'm Playmaker, but he does need Ignis, hence the need to capture me in Link VRAINS."

 

"You're insane."

 

Yusaku was about to reply when he saw a familiar brown-haired girl on the other side of the plaza. "Zaizen-san!" He said in surprise. 

 

"Wonder why she's here," Kusanagi said.

 

"She most likely followed me," Yusaku said grimly. "First: I come here all the time, so a lot of my classmates would have noticed by now. Second: I've encountered her plenty of times in Link VRAINS and in school, so she's most likely figured me out. Three: she has orders from her brother to capture me, so she's probably following me around to gain more information about me. Kusanagi-san, act normal."

 

"Don't need to tell me twice." 

 

Yusaku watched as Aoi calmly approached the hotdog truck. She gave him a slight smile. "Hello there, Fujiki-san."

 

"What are you doing here?" He responded, his tone guarded.

 

"I can't be here?" Aoi turned to Kusanagi. "I'll be ordering one hotdog, please."

 

Kusanagi smiled at her. "Sure thing, ojou-san. Are you Yusaku's classmate? You're wearing the same uniform."

 

"Oh! Um, yes."

 

"Then it's on me. Yusaku, you really should be nicer to your classmates."

 

Yusaku scowled at Kusanagi, but the man ignored him and gave Aoi a quick grin. "Call me Kusanagi. I'm a family friend of Yusaku's. Don't mind him, he's still quite grouchy over his arm."

 

"Thanks...?" Aoi turned to Yusaku. "I was just in the area. How's your arm?"

 

"Better. I'm  _not_ looking forward to going back to PE," Yusaku grumbled.  

 

Aoi laughed at this. "Tenjouin-sensei's been giving us more drills."

 

Yusaku felt his scowl grow deeper. He _hated_ drills.

 

"Here you go, ojou-san," Kusanagi said as he handed Aoi her hotdog. "By the way, what's your name?" 

 

"Zaizen Aoi," she replied, taking a bite out of the hotdog. Yusaku noticed her eyes widen in slight surprise and delight. 

"Oh, it's you! Yusaku told me a couple weeks ago that you literally ran into him after school."

 

Yusaku shot a glare at Kusanagi for bringing the incident up. Aoi, however, turned red and looked away in embarrassment. "It was an accident."

 

Kusanagi laughed. "I understand, happens all the time. Although, I haven't seen you around in this area until now. What made you come here?"

 

An uneasy smile crossed Aoi's face, and Yusaku noticed the flash of suspicion flicker in Kusanagi's eyes. He knew the brown-haired girl was definitely here for him, and she was keeping a tight lid on her plans. 

 

"Personal reasons? I get it, I get it, sorry for intruding." Kusanagi had returned to his friendly demeanor.

 

"No, it's alright, but I'd rather not say."

 

Discreetly, Yusaku checked the time, and smiled internally as he thought of a way to get Aoi out of the way. Feigning innocence, he casually tossed his wrapper in the trash. "Huh, it's already 6:20? Time passes fast."

 

Aoi's eyes widened. "6:20?!"

 

"Yeah, something wrong?"

 

"I, uh, have something to do. Bye, Fujiki-san, Kusanagi-san!" Aoi finished her hotdog in two bites and ran off.

 

"You're a terrible actor, Yusaku." Sharp intelligence replaced friendliness in Kusanagi's eyes. "She's hiding something."

 

"That much was obvious," Yusaku replied as he opened the door to the truck, ripping off his sling. A brief jab of pain went through his arm, but he ignored it in favour of snatching his Duel Disk. 

 

"Ready for your date~?" Ignis asked.

 

"Shut up." 

 

"Be careful, Yusaku."

 

"I will. Back me up, please."

 

"Of course."

 

The door slid shut behind Yusaku. "Deck, set! Into the VRAINS!"

 

* * *

Playmaker landed in a grassy area in Link VRAINS. The area was deserted, and he smiled. It was the perfect area to move around undisturbed. 

 

A flash of blue light caught his attention and he turned. "Nice to see you're on time, Blue Angel."

 

Blue Angel smiled at him, and unexpected warmth filled Playmaker's chest. That bright smile...she looked rather nice with it. He coughed. "Are you ready?"

 

"Yup!" Blue Angel summoned her D-Board, Playmaker doing the same. 

 

"Alright, let's start off with working on your footing. Ignis isn't starting a Data Storm until we're both sure your footwork and balance are correct. First off, your knees should be bent slightly the entire time. Your dominant foot should be in front and centered, and your other foot should be placed behind you far enough so that the distance is slightly larger than your shoulder width."

 

"I don't think you followed all these rules when you were dueling," Blue Angel muttered, adjusting her feet.

 

_Of course not; most of these movements are instinctual when keeping balance._

"Well, it happened quite fast in my first duel with the Knight of Hanoi, so I didn't have time to follow all the rules." Playmaker glanced at Blue Angel's footing, and narrowed his eyes. "You're not transferring most of your weight to your front foot."

 

"Oh, sorry." Blue Angel corrected her footing, and Playmaker nodded in approval. She was doing quite well.

 

"It can be difficult to get into this stable position when you're jumping onto a Data Storm, but if you attempt to remain in a semblance of this form, you should be fine."

 

"Got it."

 

"Alright, now step off the board. Get into the same position again. I won't be instructing you this time."

 

"Okay..." Blue Angel did as ordered, and Playmaker realized he had forgotten one important thing.

 

"Huh, I forgot about your upper body. Do you mind?" Giving her a short bit of time to comprehend his words, Playmaker reached forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, adjusting them slightly. 

 

Blue Angel turned over her shoulder to meet Playmaker's eyes. "Your hands are still so cold."

 

_Even in VR?_ "Nothing I can do about it." Playmaker stepped back, scrutinizing her position. _She looks fine..._

_"Looks good!"_ Ignis piped up. 

 

"Oh yeah, I never asked; how's your arm?"

 

"It's pretty much healed, thanks for asking. Shift your left foot slightly to the right. Good, now bring your Duel Disk up to its regular position." _Perfect. "_ Alright, you're good. If you ever feel like you're losing balance, just lean forward and keep your weight on your dominant foot. In the worst-case scenarios, turn the autopilot back on. Ready for the real thing?"

 

"That fast?!" Blue Angel looked surprised, which aroused Playmaker's suspicions. 

 

_Did I go too fast or am I throwing her schedule off?_

"Your stance is good. All that's left is to handle real Speed Duels. Ignis, start the Data Storm."

 

_"Okay, okay."_ The surroundings shifted to a ruined city with some buildings still standing. Purple and blue streams of data flowed along one path. Blue Angel and Playmaker stood on a tall building, watching as two familiar D-Boards flew towards them.

 

"3, 2, 1, jump!" Playmaker called, leaping onto his board. He heard Blue Angel squeak behind him, and he turned.

 

"Kyaa!" Blue Angel wobbled around on her D-Board. Luckily, Playmaker was close enough to reach out and grab her shoulders. 

 

"Calm down! Spread your feet apart like I showed you. Panicking will make it harder to recover from losing your balance."

 

"Sorry."

 

Noticing her visibly calm down, Playmaker let go. "Good job; you're doing quite well."

 

_"Great job; you're doing better than Playmaker-sama than when he first Speed Dueled."_

 

Playmaker scowled at Ignis, causing Blue Angel to start giggling. He forced himself to suppress his currently murderous thoughts towards the AI (he was _so_ tearing through the program when he got back) and put a neutral expression on his face when he turned back to Blue Angel. _Time to spring the trap. I can sense other people in this area. Most likely SOL agents, not known until confirmed._ "Do you want a practice duel against me to get used to Speed Dueling?"

 

"No, I think I should just be getting used to surfing."

 

"As you wish. Anything else you want to know about Speed Dueling?"

 

"Hm...not right now."

 

"If you want to speed up or slow down, just tap the front or the back of the board." Playmaker tapped his D-Board and accelerated, smiling as the wind gusted past him.

 

"Ah! Wait for me!" Blue Angel called. Playmaker turned back slightly to see her speeding forward to catch up with him. He noticed her check her watch, and saw guilt clear in her face. 

 

_I knew it. I'm glad Kusanagi-san gave me an evasion program just in case. I'll wait for the right timing--wait, what?!_

Ignis cried out in surprise.

 

A huge group all dressed in the Knights of Hanoi outfit were pursuing them. Their leader unnerved Playmaker. Spiked light blue hair with a tuft of hair falling over bright blue eyes. Sickly dark-coloured pupils slitted like a reptile's accompanied an equally frightening sadistic grin. His pale skin merely added to the terrifying appearance. And he hardly looked older than Playmaker. "Found you~" He spoke gleefully. "Playmaker and Blue Angel in the same place at once, must be my lucky day."

 

_This aura of danger...did the Knights of Hanoi finally decide to go all out? No...I can tell this boy isn't the leader. Maybe the right hand?_

"Who are you?" He yelled.

 

The boy's grin widened.  "My name's Kyouji. Revolver-sama sent me to capture you two and Ignis. So, which one of you wants to duel me? Ooh, I know, I'll duel the cute angel!" He winked at Blue Angel, and Playmaker internally felt rage rise in his chest. "The rest of you, take care of the SOL agents that are hiding in the area. Sorry ojou-sama, but  _we're_ capturing Playmaker, not your lackeys."

 

_I'm still here, you know. So Revolver is the name of your leader. My suspicions have just been confirmed about SOL Technologies as well._ Playmaker turned an expressionless face at Blue Angel, noting her guilt-filled features. _So in the end...I was never able to trust you._  He turned back to Kyouji. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak like I wasn't here. Do you really think you can defeat me?" _I've defeated too many of you._

Kyouji tilted his head. "Noooo~ But Revolver-sama figured out your deck. That's why he sent two special soldiers--" He snapped his fingers, and two Knights of Hanoi dressed in black cloaks moved forward. "--to capture you. I already decided I'm going to duel Blue Angel. The rest of you, hurry up and take care of the SOL agents!"

 

"Understood!"

 

Playmaker cursed. _I've dueled them too much; they know most of my deck. It's going to be difficult to defeat these two; I can tell their dueling capabilities are higher than the normal ones._

Blue Angel remained frozen on her D-Board, and despite his less-then-sympathetic thoughts towards her, Playmaker knew he had to snap her out of it. He touched her shoulder, meeting her eyes. "Remember what I taught you. Defeat the Knights of Hanoi and you'll be safe. We'll talk about SOL Technology later. As of now, we have a common enemy to defeat." _I've done what I could for you. Do your best against Kyouji; he will undoubtedly be a skilled duelist._

Playmaker noticed the black-cloaked Knights surf towards him with menacing smiles, and he knew he had to get away. Tapping his board, he increased his speed and sped far away from Blue Angel, the Knights following him closely. When they were at a far-enough distance, Playmaker slowed down slightly, the Knights flanking his sides. "2 on 1 isn't exactly fair, but I'll take both of you on."

 

"Alright then, but know this; you've just sealed your fate, Playmaker!"

 

"SPEED DUEL!"

 

* * *

"Heh...thank goodness for Storm Access...go, Firewall Dragon! TEMPEST ATTACK!" 

 

Firewall Dragon destroyed the Knights' monsters with ease, blasting them off their boards. Playmaker followed the Knights' fall onto a building. "Ignis. Get all the information you can from them."

 

_"Whatever you say, Playmaker-sama."_ Ignis rose out of Playmaker's Duel Disk, consuming the Knights of Hanoi's programs. _"Hmm...I think there's some useful data? You'd be able to analyze them better outside of Link VRAINS. But they taste really bad..."_

"I wouldn't know," Playmaker muttered. "I'm logging out, then."

 

Tapping a button, Playmaker shut his eyes...

 

...and Fujiki Yusaku opened his, staggering slightly as fatigue took over him. He opened the door to find Kusanagi rapidly typing away at the computers, a grim look on his face. 

 

"Kusanagi-san?"

 

Kusanagi looked up, and relief appeared on his face. "Thank goodness you made it out alive. What happened? Something jammed--or probably destroyed--the cameras in Link VRAINS, and I couldn't watch you after your duel started."

 

"I finished them off. Besides that, I've figured out who the leader of the Knights of Hanoi are. It's someone called Revolver. Ignis also consumed two programs of the Knight of Hanoi's, so we have to analyze them if we want to confront them."

 

"Did SOL Technologies come after you?"

 

"No. Hanoi got there first."

 

"Blue Angel is still most likely in danger though...I managed to find a little bit of information on Kyouji. It's limited, but his deck recipe is powerful enough to counter her Trickstars."

 

Yusaku handed his Duel Disk to Kusanagi. "Let's see if we can track down the place Hanoi is hiding, and I'll go confront Revolver and save Blue Angel."

 

"Alright."

 

_"You're ignoring me again~"_

"Shut up."

 

_"You know, hearing the name Revolver triggered something in my memory. I think I've met him before."_

Yusaku raised both eyebrows at this. "You better be telling the truth."

 

_"Why would I have any need to lie to you?"_

"You like to antagonize me. Kusanagi-san, I'm tearing through his program. Help me out. We can do this before we look at the programs he ate."

 

_"Hey, hey, hey! I'm actually being honest this time!"_

Yusaku stopped typing. "You'd better not be lying," he snapped as he connected his Duel Disk to the main computer. 

 

Typing a series of commands, Yusaku brought up the AI's source code. "What is this code?"

 

_"It's obviously unintelligible to humans, who see it as a jumbled assortment of alphanumeric characters which have no relation to any coding protocol or algorithm. Down a couple hundred lines and there should be a clue to decode it--"_

"Found it."

 

_"Ehh?! How embarrassing, to think you already know about it--"_

"Be quiet or else I'll change your code." Memorizing the decoding key, Yusaku went back to the beginning of the source code, and began to translate it for Kusanagi. In the middle of it, he frowned. "Not a lot of this code is complete. It's fragmented in a lot of parts."

 

"Can you connect anything?"

 

"Yeah...got it. It's a video."

 

A grainy video showed a masked man with spiked hair. Just before he could say anything, sparks began flying and the computer screens started flashing. Yusaku flinched back as a vision of a man filled his mind. Yellow eyes...bullet-shaped earrings...a mask...

 

_"I sense you...Ignis!"_

Yusaku shook himself. "Kusanagi-san, cut the power!"

 

"Way ahead of you," Kusanagi said as he shut off the power. 

 

Yusaku pressed a hand to his head. "What was..."

 

"Did you see something?"

 

"I saw...a masked man."

 

_"You saw Revolver, then."_ Ignis said. _"He's skilled, sensing my program and then attempting to track my location through your actions. He must really have kept a close eye on me."_

"Do you know what he wants?"

_"The place you saw Revolver in was my world. The Cyberse World. He tried to destroy it."_

"Why?"

_"Who knows? However, the Cyberse World is where Data Storms originate._ _Besides that, I found out where Hanoi's hiding. They're in Link VRAINS."_

"Do you have their exact location?"

 

_"Mostly. They're in an old part of Link VRAINS, but there's a lot of firewalls surrounding that place. If it wasn't me, no one else could have detected it. You might as well turn the computers back on, because only a super-destructive virus can break through those firewalls."_

"Is it safe?" Yusaku asked cautiously.

 

Kusanagi waited for a few seconds before turning the power back on, causing both males to let out sighs of relief as the computers showed their regular homescreens. "We needed a virus, right?"

 

"That's easy enough to make, but it's easier to use it directly in Link VRAINS. We need to make the program appear to be something else...like a bomb."

 

_"Wow, literally blasting yourself in? So flashy."_

"All I need is it to be effective. Ignis, see if you can listen in on any conversations that are taking place. You should be able to slip past some of the firewalls."

 

_"You're crazy! I can't get past them!"_

"Liar. If you managed to get past the firewalls for my avatar's code and plant the Storm Access skill in, you can break past their firewalls!"

 

_"You figured that one out, didn't you~ Fine, I'll do what I can."_

Yusaku resumed typing, Kusanagi doing the same. After a minute, Ignis piped up. _"You might wanna hurry up with that program. I've heard enough to know that Blue Angel's life is in danger, and Zaizen Akira's not much of a help when negotiating with his sister's life on the line."_

"Give it a second...alright, I've uploaded the virus program into the Duel Disk. It'll manifest as a bomb in Link VRAINS. Ignis, set the coordinates."

 

"Yusaku, you really have to be careful this time."

 

"I will."

 

Yusaku ran back into the room. "Deck, set! Into the VRAINS!"

 

* * *

Playmaker landed just outside of a rundown building. He quickly materialized the bomb, but paused as he heard voices. 

 

_"Need a little incentive, Zaizen-san?"_ Kyouji's voice. _"She'll be seriously injured in the real world if my hands slip, oh, I don't know, by accident if you don't reply."_

_Blue Angel's in danger!_ Playmaker set the bomb and moved a safe distance away, still able to hear the conversation.

 

_"Get away from my sister!"_ Judging from the words spoken, the voice was Zaizen Akira's. 

 

_"Agree to our terms, then."_ A deep male voice that sounded familiar...but Playmaker knew it was Revolver.

 

_"I--"_

"That won't be necessary," Playmaker called.

 

The timer hit zero, and the bomb exploded. As the smoke began to clear, Playmaker calmly stepped into the building. 

 

"Playmaker!" Akira and Revolver said in unison.

 

Playmaker turned his head slowly, analyzing the surroundings. Kyouji was standing a distance away from the hole, a knife in his hand. Blue Angel was bound to a chair, eyes wide with surprise as she saw him. Zaizen Akira's face was seen on a screen, eyes also filled with surprise. And suddenly, green eyes met with yellow. 

 

"You're Revolver!"

 

_"Ah! You're the one that destroyed my body!"_ Ignis yelled.

 

"Shut up and let me talk," Playmaker snapped. _I need answers._ "Why do you want to destroy the Cyberse World, Revolver?"

 

"Why do you oppose us, Playmaker?" Revolver shot back.

 

"You threaten the safety of Link VRAINS and are pulling too many innocent people into your schemes!"

 

"Innocent? No one is innocent in this world, Playmaker. Not one."

 

Playmaker flinched and staggered back as the same words replayed in his mind. The same words had been said by someone he should have known.

 

_"Innocent?" The young boy's voice spat. "No one is innocent in this world. Not one."_

Those words had stuck with him for years, and now Playmaker--no, Yusaku, knew that he _knew_ who Revolver was. _No..._

Revolver noticed, and turned away from Playmaker. "If you understood my true intentions for wanting to destroy the Cyberse World, I have a feeling you'd side with me, Playmaker. Maybe if you saw my true face, you'd reconsider going against me." Revolver slowly turned back around, removing his mask as he did so.

 

And his face...Yusaku recoiled with horror. A familiar face, one that he had thought he'd never see again. "No...you can't be..."

 

"I am," Revolver said, crumbling the last bit's of Yusaku's denial.  "You haven't forgotten me, have you? You knew it was me when I said those words. I know who are are as well. It's been a while, Yusaku-kun. I knew it was you the moment I saw you when you were looking through Ignis' program."

"No...this is a lie...why? Why are you..."

"Doing all this? Circumstances change."

 

_Like hell they do!_

Yusaku opened his mouth to say the name of someone he thought had long died. "Shuichi-san...why? Do you know how long your brother looked for you?!" _Kusanagi-san...his desperation...searching for you night after night with tears in his eyes when he learned about you..._

Yusaku noticed a subtle flicker of surprise in Shuichi's eyes, accompanied with a faint smile. 

 

"Shoichi-nii probably looked for a long time, Yusaku-kun. He's always been like that."

"So why? Why do all this?"

_"Yes, what does my sister have to do with this?"_ Akira yelled from the screen.  _"Let her go!"_

 

"Your sister?" _Oh right...we're not alone._ Playmaker glanced at Blue Angel, who was still staring at him in shock. "Zaizen-san is your sister...oh, I understand now." _I understood a while ago._

 

"W-when did you figure it out?" Blue Angel asked in a surprised tone.

 

"A long time ago. Now answer me, Shuichi-san!" _I need answers from him at this point._

Flicking his wrist, Akira's shouts were suddenly muted. Shuichi began speaking. "My father was the one who created the Cyberse World. It was a prototype world in the virtual network to create more sentient AIs, like Ignis. But, when he had finished his research...SOL Technologies stole it and trapped his mind in Link VRAINS so that he would be unable to share it with any other company. SOL Technologies was a small company back then...about to collapse and unable to compete with large companies such as Kaiba Corporation or Industrial Illusions. When they stole the technology and implemented it for their own use, they gained instant recognition and money, and they used it to destroy the older, more powerful companies. With the Cyberse World and the Solid Vision stolen from Kaiba Corporation, the world of Link VRAINS was created, which helped SOL Technologies rise to the top. As for my father, he was trapped in a space deep inside Link VRAINS, where no one has accessed. Destroying the Cyberse World will free my father and bring him back to the real world. Father is dying right now in the real world. Unless I bring him back now, he dies." Revolver unmuted the screen, but Akira was shocked into silence.

 

_Kusanagi-san's father wasn't dead?_

"Then why? Why didn't you tell Kusanagi-san?"

 

"I thought he was dead after that accident. Both of you thought I was dead or kidnapped, didn't you? Your parents were killed, my mother was killed...and we were separated. I had no idea you two were alive until now, but I knew if Shoichi-nii was alive, he'd be searching for me. After that accident, Dr. Kogami found me and led me to where my father's comatose body was. And that day, I swore to destroy the Cyberse World and SOL Technologies with it."

 

_The car accident 8 years ago...my parents were killed, and I lost most of my memories from the trauma. What I know about Kusanagi-san and Shuichi-san was what Kusanagi-san told me...but how close were we? I don't remember...but I need to get him back!_

"You don't have to do it this way! Come back to Kusanagi-san and we'll work things out! We can search for your father together!"

"I'm sorry, Yusaku-kun. I've already gone too far into the darkness."

 

"I don't believe that! I swore to your brother that I'd save you from the darkness!" _Yes...I swore to him that if you were alive, I'd pull you out and reunite you two...! Even if you sank into darkness...I_ ' _d help you! For Kusanagi-san...since he saved me! Even if I don't remember who you are..._

 

"It's too late, Yusaku-kun. Give me Ignis and I'll release Blue Angel. I won't launch any more attacks on Link VRAINS if you do so."

 

"I...I..." _I can't...not when you'll just endanger so many people._

 

"Please, Yusaku-kun. This is the only hope I have left to save Father."

 

_Your actions are justified, but I can't work with you like this. Someone...Kusanagi-san, what do I do?_

 

"You're leaving me with no choice." Shuichi snapped his fingers.

 

Yusaku tensed, but nothing happened.

 

Shuichi frowned and brought up a screen, typing something in. He swore when a red warning sign appeared. "What's going on?"

 

"I apologize, Revolver-sama, but the Knights of Hanoi are under _my_ control now." A man with pale hair and pale eyes appeared. At least 40 other Knights of Hanoi appeared as well.

 

"What is this?" Revolver said in an angry voice. "You dare betray me, Spectre?!"

 

"I apologize, Revolver-sama, but I believe you are no longer fit to lead the Knights of Hanoi. Many of us are dissatisfied with how you lead us. As such, I have decided to take over as the leader. You will die here with Playmaker and the others." He pulled out a gun, aiming it at his former leader. "I prefer to do things the old way. You cannot duel me to get out of this predicament."

 

_Shit...! A gun like this can actually kill us despite being in the virtual world!_

_"Let my sister go first!"_ Akira yelled.

 

"My demands are to give me full control over Link VRAINS. We will destroy the Cyberse World for our own reasons. I'll release her after that."

 

"You still won't be able to find the Cyberse World even with full control over Link VRAINS! You should already know that!" 

 

"You're getting annoying. Disappear." Spectre pulled the trigger with a bang.

 

Blue Angel screamed. Yusaku gasped in horror as Kyouji staggered back with blood pouring out of a hole in his chest. "N-nii-sama..." he choked out, before slumping.

 

_He shot his own brother?!_

"Why would you kill your own brother?!" Blue Angel cried.

 

"I never thought of him as a brother. Now, Zaizen Akira, give me control over Link VRAINS or else your sister is the next one to die." Spectre pointed the gun at Blue Angel. 

 

_"NO!"_

 

_Not on my watch!_

But Playmaker (remembering where he was, Yusaku forced down the emotions he was feeling in real life) quickly knew he didn't have to worry about Spectre...yet.

 

"SPECTRE!" Shuichi lunged at the man in question, and the two of them crashed to the ground, fighting. 

 

With their leader busy, the Knights began approaching Playmaker, but he simply held his Duel Disk up high. "Ignis. Do whatever you want, but make sure they don't get close."

 

_"Whatever you want, Playmaker-sama."_

 

Ignis shot out of Playmaker's Duel Disk into a horrifying form, sweeping around the place and consuming the Knights one by one. Playmaker drew out a few cards from his deck, a program made a long time ago sharpening their edges. 

 

Screams were heard behind him, and Playmaker turned to see an unbound Blue Angel send a group of Knights right into Ignis' line of fire. _I see Kyouji had enough strength to get her out...he's strong._ He gave her a quick nod of thanks, directing Ignis at a massed group of Knights. He started backing up carefully until he stood right beside her, quickly analyzing their current situation before speaking. "None of us will last long against Spectre or the Knights of Hanoi. Shuichi-san isn't dumb; he knows when he's fighting a losing battle and I can tell Spectre is going to overpower him eventually." _I can see it in his face...even from that distance, I can tell he's tiring._

 

"What are we going to do then?" Blue Angel sent another group of Knights into a tangled heap, where they were quickly eaten by Ignis.

 

"I don't know." He honestly didn't. "This is the first time I've been driven into a corner like this." Noticing a Knight that had managed to sneak closer, Playmaker flung one of his sharpened cards, embedding it in the other's skin. The man screamed and retreated. Throwing three more cards, Playmaker watched the Knights back off. An idea suddenly occurred to him as he realized that Zaizen Akira was still watching them, shock and horror in his eyes as he watched the carnage.  "If I get you out of Link VRAINS, will you be able to contact your brother and alert him to your location? At the very least, you should get out of here."

 

"How can I just leave you here?!"

 

_Does she actually care for my well-being?_ "You seemed fine with that with your terrible attempt to capture me for SOL Technology."

 

He withered inside slightly as guilt crossed her features. "Okay, I'll admit that was low." _But I won't apologize._ " However, we don't have any other ways to escape. I have a feeling Spectre will be destroying this place along with us if Shuichi-san beats him in the fight anyways." _If he casually turns on his leader and shoots his family, he'll definitely kill us all._

A scream of pain--Playmaker recognized the voice as Shuichi's--was heard, and the former watched in horror as the latter staggered back with a grimace, a hole through his shoulder. Spectre stood in front of him, the gun still smoking. "I win, Revolver-sama."

 

_No!_ "Shuichi-san!"

 

"No you don't, _nii-sama_."

 

A knife stabbed through Spectre's gun arm, causing him to drop the gun with a cry of pain. Revolver quickly grabbed the gun and pinned Spectre to the ground, holding the gun to the latter's temple. "Give it up. You've lost."

 

"Heh...so Kyouji was still alive..."

 

_How?_ Playmaker thought in wonder as Kyouji limped to his brother, hand clutching his chest. 

 

"You forgot my real body was in a specialized underground hospital ward. I think this fight is over." Shuichi handed him the gun and Kyouji pressed it to his brother's temple. "Revolver-sama, your orders?"

 

Shuichi stood up. "Stand down!" He said loudly, causing the remaining Knights that hadn't been consumed to freeze. "Your leader is captured and his life is in my hands. Leave before I kill the rest of you for betraying me."

 

The Knights obediently disappeared, and Playmaker wondered at the leadership skill his former friend had in the group. Shuichi then turned to the screen, where Akira was still watching. "Zaizen Akira!"

 

_"What do you want?"_

"I'll let your sister go. In exchange, none of this is leaked to the public."

 

_"Do you really think you're in any position to be making demands?"_

_True, but Zaizen forgot about me. And since I know all the details now...I'll stand by Shuichi-san._

"We are," Playmaker cut in, walking towards Revolver. "If you don't, I will hand Ignis over to Shuichi-san and join his side." The latter shot him a grateful smile, so quick no one noticed but him. 

 

_"Why don't I get a choice in this?"_ The AI whined, but everyone ignored him.

 

Akira gritted his teeth, but finally spoke.  _"Fine. Let my sister go and I'll make sure none of this is leaked to the public."_

 

"See, now that wasn't hard," Kyouji said, apparently no longer in pain. Wherever his real body was, there must have been doctors working on saving his life. Keeping the gun aimed at his brother, Kyouji used his free hand to bring up a screen and type in a few commands. A blue aura rose off Blue Angel and shattered. "You can log out now, ojou-sama. Sorry I had to do that to all of you."

 

Blue Angel eyes met Playmaker's, asking for confirmation. He nodded and waved for her to go. _She doesn't need to hear the rest of our conversations._

 

She disappeared into blue particles.

 

_"Where's Aoi?"_ Akira demanded.

 

"All I'm telling you now is that she's unharmed and still in Den City," Revolver snapped. "I will make one more bargain with you before I let Zaizen Aoi go."

 

_"What do you want?"_

 

"You get my second-in-command and everyone else's accounts in the Knights of Hanoi so that you can properly erase their accounts or arrest them. In exchange, Kyouji, Playmaker and I will not be touched by SOL Technologies. Everything I said earlier is true, and I do not want your corrupt company messing with my life."

 

Spectre snarled at his leader. "I knew you were an incompetent leader, letting your life problems get the better of your goals."

 

"Shut up, nii-sama," Kyouji drawled. "You're the incompetent second-in-command who has no right to speak after your little coup failed. I've already locked down your account with the same program you used on me so many years ago. Besides, I know that behind that strong mask, you're a coward, so what would happen if I pulled the trigger?"

 

Pure hatred was seen in Spectre's eyes as he glared at Kyouji, but the latter simply smirked. "I've been waiting for my revenge for so many years. Although I'll restrict your voice first." Snapping his fingers, a gag appeared around Spectre's mouth.

 

"Kyouji-kun, stand down. We still need him alive."

 

"Fine, fine."

 

"Your word then, Zaizen?"

 

Akira glared at Revolver. _"And if I refuse?"_

 

"Don't forget the fact that I still have your sister in custody."

 

_"Fine. Give me the location of your second-in-command's real body as well."_

"I'll handle that," Kyouji said with a grin. "Considering I'm the only one who currently has access to his Duel Disk." He tapped Spectre's Duel Disk, pressing a few holographic buttons. "I've sent his location to your computer. Send some people over to his place. Make sure he ends up in prison for a few years, okay? I think all of us want to be free from him for a while. Especially me."

 

Akira only nodded. _"Is that all?"_

"Swear that you won't betray us, or else your sister..." Revolver let the threat hang in the air, and Akira quickly nodded.

 

_"No one will know about this and I will ensure your safety in Link VRAINS and in real life. My men are also approaching the location as we speak."_

"Good." Revolver turned to Kyouji. "Kyouji-kun, you may log out. You should rest even though your life is out of danger for now. Don't strain yourself more than necessary."

 

"That's fine with me, but what about nii-sama?"

 

_"His place is surrounded,"_ Akira said.

 

"Good. Then bye for now, nii-sama. I'll make sure not to visit you in prison." Kyouji tapped Spectre's Duel Disk, forcibly logging him out. "Guess I'll go as well. You look like you need a lot of words with Playmaker, Revolver-sama."

 

"That I do," Revolver said curtly before snapping his fingers and closing the screen Akira was watching them.

 

"What do you want with me?" Playmaker asked.

 

"So cold, Yusaku. And when did you add that honorific to my name?"

 

_He acts like we were friends...but I remember nothing._

"I remember nothing."

 

Shuichi flinched back at the words, pain clear on his face. "You really don't remember anything after that accident?"

 

"The doctors said the trauma erased them all. I don't remember much...all I know is that we knew each other and that you are Kusanagi-san's little brother."

 

"Kusanagi-san? I'm surprised you'd refer to him that way, but if your memories of us did get erased...I shouldn't be surprised, right?" A bitter tone was heard in his voice. "I'm logging out; I need to get my shoulder looked at. I sent my real life location to you; Zaizen Aoi's there as well. Get there quickly, Yusaku."

 

"Before you go, I want to ask...how close were we?"

 

Revolver smiled sadly, and Playmaker's breath caught in his throat as the image of a smiling young boy was superimposed over the former's face. "You used to call me brother."

* * *

This time, when Yusaku came to his senses, he was too tired to even stand up. Luckily, Kusanagi had heard him, and opened the door, helping Yusaku up. "I didn't catch anything. What happened?"

 

"Long story short, I know where Zaizen-san is, the Knights of Hanoi have been destroyed more or less, and Shuichi-san is alive."

 

Kusanagi's grip slackened and he stared at Yusaku. "Shu--shuichi's alive?"

 

Yusaku nodded. 

 

"Where is he?!"

 

_"He sent us a message as Revolver. The address isn't too far from the sea."_

"Shuichi is Revolver?!"

 

_"Oi, are you just going to stand there like an idiot or get to the place where your brother is?"_

"Give me the address again," Kusanagi muttered, in a complete daze.

 

Ignis gave it, and Kusanagi stiffened. "I'm an idiot for not looking there. We only went there once, but Shuichi loved the place."

 

"Are you alright, Kusanagi-san?"

 

"Yeah...but to think he was alive this whole time...Yusaku, do you remember him?"

 

"A bit, I guess," Yusaku replied as Kusanagi started the truck. "I think I remember dueling him. Why didn't you tell me anything?"

 

"You were...too traumatized, for lack of a better word. You woke up with no memories of us, almost no memories of your parents...your most recent memory was the crash. You had been in a coma for nearly a month, and despite retaining your motor skills and language, you had no memories of the people around you. You probably don't remember our first reunion after you woke up, but speaking plainly...you were terrified of me. Terrified of other humans, crying out for your parents...I decided to just familiarize myself with you once again and simply act as your guardian until you were old enough to know the truth. The doctors did say your memories might return, so I waited...until now. I really didn't want to hide anything from you."

 

"So you knew what I was like before I forgot everything?" Yusaku asked. He was admittedly shocked at how his life had turned out after the accident, but Kusanagi was still the only person he had known and trusted after everything.

 

Kusanagi smiled sadly. "You were active and bright, and loved to duel. You always had a smile on your face. Our parents were close, so you spent time with us every single day. I still remember the time you declared Shuichi as your role model. You considered us your older brothers...and we were happy to be like that."

 

A fragment of a memory came to Yusaku then. 

 

_"Here I go, Shuichi-nii! Beat this!"_

_"Heh, looks like the student surpassed his teacher. You're going to be a great pro duelist, aren't you, Yusaku?" A boy with spiked hair ruffled his hair._

_"I like computers better, though. And quit that! I'm not that small!"_

_"You're small to me!" The older boy said teasingly, and started laughing as he was chased around the house._

"I think...I remember some of it..."

 

"So they're returning, are they?"

 

"In bits and pieces."

 

"Well, we're here." Kusanagi turned off the truck and opened the doors, hurrying to the building in front of them. Yusaku was close behind.

 

The door to the building opened, a grey-haired man in a lab coat greeting them. "Shoichi-kun, Yusaku-kun, I've been expecting you."

 

"Dr. Kogami?!"

 

The doctor smiled at Kusanagi. "It's been a while, my boy. Shuichi's recovering in his room, but he's awake. I assume you'll want to talk to him. Come in."

 

"Thanks," Kusanagi said before sprinting into the building. Yusaku could hear him yell Shuichi's name down the hallway.

 

"Yusaku-kun, Shuichi-kun ordered me to take you to Zaizen Aoi's location. Can you take her home?"

 

"Sure...as long as I get to talk with Shuichi-san later."

 

"You'll have plenty of time for that later. Right now, I believe you consider Zaizen Aoi's safety a higher priority."

 

"Yeah..." In all honesty, he had nearly forgotten about Aoi when he had learned about Shuichi. 

 

Dr. Kogami led Yusaku down a series of hallways and stairs, stopping outside a small room. "Here."

 

"Thank you, sensei."

 

"It's my job."

 

Yusaku entered the door and saw Aoi on a bed, apparently unconscious. "Zaizen-san!" He rushed to her side, sighing in relief when he noticed her breathing normally. "Good, she's alright."

 

"I have her address with me," Dr. Kogami said. "I might be asking too much, but I believe the brothers are busy reuniting. Is it alright for you to get her home?"

 

"Sure," Yusaku said. With the doctor's help, Yusaku managed to get Aoi draped over him piggyback style. The address was given to him, and Yusaku walked out the door. He briefly paused to turn back to the doctor. "Actually, you can take my Duel Disk for the time being. Ignis is in there."

 

_"Hey, hey, hey! Why do I have to stay behind?"_ Ignis whined as Dr. Kogami unstrapped the Duel Disk.

 

"First: I'd rather not have you annoying me while I take Zaizen-san back home. Second: I already said I'd help Shuichi-san, so keeping you here benefits both of us. Third, I'll most likely be meeting Zaizen-san's older brother, who will most likely take any chance he has to get you, and I'm not letting that happen."

 

"Valid reasons, Yusaku-kun. You may leave. I'll keep your Duel Disk safe."

 

"Thank you." Under normal circumstances, Yusaku wouldn't have trusted a person he had just met, but considering Kusanagi knew the man, he decided to trust him for now.

 

Yusaku knew the general area of where Aoi's home was, and headed in that direction when he left the building. It was only a 10 minute walk, and Aoi was surprisingly light, so Yusaku felt just fine on the road. Quickly checking his watch, he blinked. _It's so late...guess I'll skip school tomorrow._

Yusaku heard Aoi squeak behind him, and he turned his head to face her.

 

"Fujiki-san?!"

 

"Oh, you woke up." Yusaku continued to walk. "I'm taking you back to your house. You wouldn't wake up when I found you at Shuichi-san's place, so I searched for your address and decided to get you back home. It's 2:17 AM." _I'm not mentioning Dr. Kogami._

"So...it's really true...you're..."

 

_Looks like everything's out of the bag._

"Playmaker? I'd deny it, but I know who you are as well, so I'm in no position to deny it. Yes, I'm Playmaker. And you're Blue Angel."

 

"When did you figure it out?" Aoi asked.

 

"Since the duel with Queen. I had my suspicions during the first attack from the Knight of Hanoi, though."

"How did you know?!"

 

"Three reasons. First, your voice remained the same. Second, your mannerisms and personality. You may have been able to change most of your personality as Blue Angel, but some of your mannerisms are the some in the real world. Third...I'd rather not say it--" Yusaku could feel his cheeks starting to burn, but it was true-- "but your body shape was the same."

 

"You didn't have to mention it." Aoi's voice was tinged with embarrassment. 

 

"It's a valid reason."

 

"So, what happened with Revolver and Kyouji?"

 

"Promise that you don't tell your brother." _I'll give her the bare minimum even if she doesn't promise, though._

 

"I can't promise that...."

 

"Then I'm not telling you. The most I'll tell you is that Kyouji is alive and recuperating in the real world. Shuichi-san handed Spectre over to your brother upon the condition that SOL Technologies does not arrest him."

 

"What about you?"

 

_That, I actually don't know, considering I'm going straight to your house and facing your brother, who's most likely figured me out._  "Your brother hasn't found out who Playmaker is--but he'll find out eventually. I'd rather not get arrested, so if needed, you'll be a bargaining chip again for my freedom." _That's the worst-case scenario, and I really don't want to drop that low._

"Fine. How's Ignis?"

 

"Not telling." _And I'm glad I left him behind._ Yusaku stopped as he saw Aoi's house ahead of him. "Can you stand?"

 

"Yeah, I think so." Yusaku dropped his hands from Aoi's legs and she slid off his back, landing lightly on the ground. She approached the door, but before she could open it, the door opened to reveal a worried-looking Zaizen Akira.

 

"Aoi! You're alright!" He hugged her tightly. "Thank goodness..."

 

"Nii-san..." Aoi hugged him back.

 

Yusaku was about to slip off before Aoi turned back to him, pulling away from her brother. "Nii-san, this is my classmate, Fujiki Yusaku. He helped me get back home."

 

_Well, there goes my identity._

Akira's eyes widened as they met with Yusaku's. "You're Playmaker, aren't you?"

 

_No use denying it now._ "Yes, I am."

 

"I should be taking you into custody as well."

 

_Dammit._

"Nii-san!" Aoi admonished her brother.

 

"But...it's too late, and I owe you for rescuing my sister even though I used her to attempt to capture you and Ignis. I'll let you go. Thank you for bringing her back safely."

 

_Praise whatever god is out there._

"You're welcome." Yusaku was about to leave, before a thought occurred to him. He turned to Aoi. "When did you develop suspicions that I was Playmaker? I know you weren't at the hotdog stand by chance."

 

"Three reasons." Yusaku had to smile internally when Aoi mimicked his style. "First, your hands were and are still really cold. Second, your eyes were the same intense green. Third...well, your injuries matched the ones during my duel with Queen."

 

"Looks like it was easier for you to figure it out than me."

 

Yusaku turned and walked away, hearing the door close behind him and Akira's faint words, clearly fussing over his sister. He smiled slightly. One person was safe and sound. 

 

Yusaku raised his head to watch the bright moon, his thoughts drifting all over the place. He definitely had to catch up with the Kusanagi brothers, maybe help Shuichi find a way into the Cyberse World and rescue his father, find a way to trigger his lost memories...and maybe finding out why he kept on thinking of Aoi. 

 

_I don't understand the emotions when I think of her...maybe I'll ask Kusanagi-san again? I hope I can see her more often in school._

Yusaku continued walking.

 

_FIN_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes Part 2! Revolver's story doesn't have any shipping in it, but I hope you'll still read it. I will be posting more AngelMaker stories in the future--make sure you read them since this ship is awesome! Thanks for all your support!


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